Friday, November 25, 2011

Huntington Turkey Trot 5k - Race Report

Since running the half marathon, I had been looking for races to add to my schedule.  I thought about doing a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, but wasn't sure I could fit it into the schedule for the day.  But sometime in the few days before Thanksgiving, I decided I was going to go for it.  I had heard good things about the one in Huntington, so that's the one I chose. 

I had been running slow and easy since the half, and didn't really know how much speed and continuous stamina I had in me (been doing a lot of run/walk-ing lately and not a lot of all out running).  My goal all year has been to run a 5k in under 30, but I didn't have a lot of expectations heading into this race. Marc was convinced I could do it in 29:something; I wasn't so sure. 

I got up early on Thursday morning and grabbed the first warm-ish running clothes I could find.  My Athleta Windwarrior skirt had just arrived on Wednesday and it was the perfect choice (fits well, was warm, and looks good too); wore it with capris from Target, and one of my Nike running hoodies.  By the time I got to looking for socks, I was running behind and just grabbed the first 2 that were a pair out of the "to be folded basket" (which turned out to be a mistake: too loose at the toes + bad seams = bad blister on right baby toe).  Lesson learned - always lay out all clothes the night before!

On the drive to Huntington, I got off the wrong exit of the interstate and took an unplanned tour of the city.  Luckily I had plenty of time to get there.  Finally made my way to Ritter Park and found a good parking spot.  Decided to leave my gloves in the car until after I registered; this turned out to be the second mistake of the day.   I had no idea this race would be as big as it was, and registration took a little longer than I thought.  So I didn't think I had enough time to go all the way back to the car to get the gloves and back again before the start time. Turns out I was wrong, since the race ended up starting late due to all the people needing to get signed in.  So I had super cold fingers all morning (for the record, the rest of me was cold too).  Lesson learned - if it's cold, take the gloves with you!

All the runners were just standing around by the start line patiently waiting, when all of sudden the start gun went off.  No warning, no announcement that it was coming, just "BANG", which made for a kind of chaotic start.  But I was off.  I started off a little closer to the front than I usually do, which helped me get to a comfortable pace and into a "groove" faster, since I wasn't weaving around people so much.  

I was just cruising along, feeling good, running easy, and all of a sudden a mile was done.  When I looked at my Garmin and saw the average pace for the mile, I was a little concerned and thought I might have gone out too fast.  Still cruising nice and easy at mile 2; checked pace again, and it was faster than mile 1.  At this point, I decided I was going to negative split the whole thing.  Mile 3 wasn't quite as easy, since I was pushing myself a little harder, but it still wasn't exactly what I would call hard.  I don't usually pass people in the last mile, but this time I was, and let me tell you, it was a little exhilerating.  I did have the thought in the back of my mind to be careful that I didn't run out of gas and have all those people pass me before the end (I didn't run out of gas, but some of them did pass me, but most didn't).  I was running along at my fastest pace of the day when I saw the finish clock; it was at 29:20.  I sped up and started to sprint hoping to cross the finish in under 29:30, but didn't quite make it - at least not officially; my Garmin time was 29:21; offical time 29:33.

It was a great race; lots of people, a nice easy course, supported a good cause, and was a lot of fun.  It was the race where I finished in less than 30 minutes (a goal I'd been striving towards for 6 months).  It was a negative split race (a rare occasion for me!)  I went home happy and hungry and ready for the Thanksgiving feast with family and friends later that day. 

Garmin Stats:
3.11 miles, 29:21, 9:27 avg. pace
Splits:
mile 1 - 9:50
mile 2 - 9:25
mile 3 - 9:13
mile .11 - 8:07

Official results:
Place  Name                No.  Age  Gender  Time    Pace
303    Melissa Fuentes 838  36      F          29:33  9:31

Last Personal Record:
Charleston Distance Run 5k - 30:42

New Personal Record:
Huntington Turkey Trot 5k - 29:21 (or 29:33 if you're a stickler for official times)
 


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Schedule for my favorite Holiday Specials

  1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is on Thanksgiving Day (11/24) at 8pm on ABC
  2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon) is on Monday 11/28 at 8pm on ABC
  3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is on Tuesday 11/29 at 8pm on CBS
  4. the Grinch is on again on Friday 12/2 at 8pm on ABC Family
  5. A Charlie Brown Christmas is on Monday 12/5 at 8pm on ABC
  6. Frosty the Snowman is on Friday, 12/9 at 8pm on CBS
  7. Rudolph is on again on Saturday, 12/10 at 8pm on CBS
  8. the Grinch is on yet again on Tuesday 12/13 at 10:30pm on ABC Family

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Race Report: Marshall University Half Marathon

I did it! I am now officially a half marathoner. For someone who never thought she COULD run, never thought she would want to run, and never imagined she would love to run, that’s a huge accomplishment.


I totally under estimated how hard this race would be. Not the physical part (although it was), but the mental part. I’m used to running my long runs with either my husband or music, or both. Due to Marc’s late night work schedule, early morning races aren’t something he’s able to do; and according to race rules, ipods and headphones weren’t allowed. So I was without both of my main motivators to keep me going strong. Running alone and quiet leaves me too much time in my head and I dwell on how much farther there is to go, how tired I am, how much this foot hurts or that knee hurts, or whatever. And, this is probably a bit TMI but it is what it is, the appearance of my “monthly visitor” sometime during the race added to the emotional and mental difficulties.

Anyway, I digress from the recap… Here goes:
I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4:45am and left the house at 5:30, which got me to the race with plenty of, almost too much, time to spare. So I sat in the nice warm car for a while before venturing out in the cold to warm up a bit and head to the starting line. I had the garmin set for 3 minute run intervals with 1minute 30second walking rest intervals, which is what I had been training with and works really well for me. I decided before the start that I wasn’t going to look at the garmin to see how far I’d gone, how far I had to go, or even what my pace was; I was just going to listen for the beeps and run or walk when it told me to, and hope for the best. I had a goal (finish in 2:30) but I totally wasn’t going to push it – all I really wanted to do was finish.

The first 7 miles were awesomely easy. Running through the gorgeous yellow fall foliage in Harris Riverfront Park was breathtaking (in a good way); wish I had had a camera to take a picture. Since I’m not all that familiar with Huntington, the fact that I didn’t know exactly where I was or where I was going made that section of the race easy. But after mile 7, I entered familiar territory, having participated in a couple of Huntington’s Critical Mass rides, I had ridden my bike through that part of town, and knew just how far it was that I had to go. And as I said, without my music and my running buddy, I got too into my head and dwelled on it way too much. Another difficulty for me was the trail through Ritter Park; for some reason I found it hard to run on. Time #1 when tears threatened – it was cold, I was getting tired, I was lonely.

After finally getting to run on the solid surface of the road again after leaving the park, I brightened up a bit. But when we turned away from the stadium, things started getting hard again. Add in a fairly long straight stretch ( I hate long straight stretches) and I was down in the dumps again. Time #2 for almost crying – especially when I saw the 11 mile marker; didn’t think I had 2 more miles in me – I was tired; I was starting to hurt; I was still lonely. At this point I decided I was going to walk through my next running interval – better to walk then instead of walking at the finish. The extra 3 minutes of walking was just what I needed.

The return trip through Harris Riverfront Park was just a pretty as the first time. And I have to say, the full marathoners running past in the other direction (on their 2nd lap) gave me a little boost of motivation (their “you’re looking good” ’s and “keep it up” ‘s were helpful. But then it was back out onto another long straight stretch and the stadium looked SO far far away. I kept going but was feeling incredibly done with the whole thing. A full marathoner’s remark of “less than a quarter mile to go” was not as motivating as I’m sure he meant it to be. Time #3 for wanting to cry – I felt like I couldn’t go another quarter step, let alone another quarter mile. But I soldiered on. And there, parked on the side of the road was my mom and dad’s car (time #4).

The stadium was now an attainable goal – it was right there! Crossed the street, and at the corner I saw Mom & Dad. Amazingly, seeing them made me smile instead of cry (yay!) And they managed to catch a smile and a wave in the pic they took. On to the finish line! This small section there at the end was quite chaotic, with all the people who had already finished hanging and walking around. But I found my way into the stadium (that short steep downhill into it was kind of cruel – can we say painful) and out onto the field (Astroturf is also hard to run on in my opinion). Rounded that last corner and saw the clock: I was under my goal time! They announced my name (sort of, nobody can pronounce it right, but that’s ok) and I crossed the line. I was done! I did it! I can officially call myself a half-marathoner! And for those of you wondering, I finally let the tears win and cried when I saw my mom after the finish. Tears of relief that I was done; tears of amazement at what I had done; tears of pain and tears of joy.

It was hard. It was painful. It was challenging. It was probably one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. I can’t wait to run the next one.

Garmin time:
13.18 miles in 2:25:47, average of 11:03mpm

Official time:
2:26:25, average of 11:11mpm

Splits:

Mile 1 - 11:23
Mile 2 - 11:21
Mile 3 - 10:42
Mile 4 - 10:53
Mile 5 - 10:49
Mile 6 - 10:36
Mile 7 - 11:16
Mile 8 - 10:52
Mile 9 - 11:27
Mile 10 - 10:40
Mile 11 - 10:57
Mile 12 - 11:57
Mile 13 - 11:12

Not so Random Random Pic of the Week

Nearing the finish line at the Marshall University Half Marathon
11-06-11